Acoustic Research
EB-101
TurnTables

Product Description

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Jim Libert
a AudioPhile

Date Reviewed: April 10, 2014

Bottom Line:

I own an AR EB101 since about 1988.
Never could totally get used to the funky suspension. I did get a spring upgrade kit with Thrust bearings didn't help too much so finally opted to mount a shelf on the wall to keep the turntable from skipping whenever I walked on the carpeted floor. I want to protect my priceless Shure V 15 type M-R cartridge and needle since they are obsolete and don't trust the new ones (Jico) from Japan. Its a bit nerve racking every time you lift the needle. The lift mechanism is mounted on the sprung chassis so when you lift the arm springs move the table away from you. So you have to be careful not to skip the stylus on the record. I owned a TD 320 Thorens which I promptly returned on Ebay. what a nightmare. the auto mechanism did not work properly and I did not want to break my needle. I love the AR all manual mechanism with no complexity or moving parts of the Thorens. I recently upgraded my AR with higher quality gold plated RCA's and a cork music Hall mat (expensive for what it is $ 50.00). and arcrylic mat. I think the AR is very well made and simple enough for me. Tonearm allows for all adjusts I have ever needed. Very well made turntable indeed. I have no plans to sell in the future.

proven solid basic design principles executed with nice build quality. arm adjusts for angle and tilt.dial calibrations on arm settings accurate. sounds very clean, lets you listen
"into" the music. on a good album (say a beatles white album) you will hear detail that will expand the meaning of the preformances,verseslesser turntable/arm combinations. even came with a dropper bottle of oil for bearing-which turned out to be a lifetime supply. you just can't fit that much oil into bearing.

An incredible table for the price. I'd been told about the AR tables and how solid they were. I kept my eye out for one and when I caught an EB101 for sale on Ebay, I grabbed it. My EB101 came with an upgraded arm which was a Linn Basik Plus no less. What a find! My table had no cartridge and so I paired the Linn arm with a Grado Labs Sonata cartridge and a Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 Phono Amp. I couldn't be happier. I agree with a prior reviewer in saying that this table won't make bad recordings sound great....but it will make your solid LP's sing. This is a good, solid, basic table. It's built like a Sherman Tank so it should last for years. I like the fact that this table is so easy to use, it pairs easily with external units( like my SF phono amp ), and it's easy to upgrade. For under a $1000.00, this table can't be beat!

My AR EB101 came complete with a Linn Basik Plus tonearm which was a huge plus and one of the reasons I purchased the table. I bought my table mostly because I had so many LP's in my collection which were being neglected. I wanted to play my old LP's but I didn't want to mortage my house to get into a good analog set-up. I wanted a Linn table but couldn't find one under $1000.00 that was worth the money. I'd heard about the ease of setup and build quality of the AR tables....and luckily found one on-line. True to form for a table seller, my AR EB101 came with an upgraded arm but no cartridge. Since getting the table, I've strapped a Grado Labs Sonata to the Linn arm and I am very, very happy. I agree with one of the other reviews of the EB101....this table isn't going to make bad recordings sound great, but it will allow you solid performance with clear, dynamic sound. For those getting into analog audio/turntable, the EB 101 is a great starting point. Why? It's a solid unit in terms of build quality and it's ease to setup and upgrade components. What more could you want? Though I have heard " better " setups which cost thousands more by the way, for the money....this table can't be beat!!

My AR EB101 came complete with a Linn Basik Plus tonearm which was a huge plus and one of the reasons I purchased the table. I bought my table mostly because I had so many LP's in my collection which were being neglected. I wanted to play my old LP's but I didn't want to mortage my house to get into a good analog set-up. I wanted a Linn table but couldn't find one under $1000.00 that was worth the money. I'd heard about the ease of setup and build quality of the AR tables....and luckily found one on-line. True to form for a table seller, my AR EB101 came with an upgraded arm but no cartridge. Since getting the table, I've strapped a Grado Labs Sonata to the Linn arm and I am very, very happy. I agree with one of the other reviews of the EB101....this table isn't going to make bad recordings sound great, but it will allow you solid performance with clear, dynamic sound. For those getting into analog audio/turntable, the EB 101 is a great starting point. Why? It's a solid unit in terms of build quality and it's ease to setup and upgrade components. What more could you want? Though I have heard " better " setups which cost thousands more by the way, for the money....this table can't be beat!!